Directory services are commonly used to manage identities, policies, security information, and network resources. A directory service typically organizes electronic content and runs on a directory server. The directory service is the interface to a directory which holds information about objects that are to be managed by the directory service.
Directories differ from databases in several ways. A primary difference is that information in a directory is generally read more often than it is written. Still, information has to at times be written to directories. Additionally, data in a directory is accessed using one or more directory service protocols. A client requesting from a directory need not know which physical device stores the data. There is an ongoing need to increase directory read and write performance without sacrificing consistency and reliability.
Past attempts to increase read and write performance have resulted in increased complexity of operations and increased cost. Previous attempts at increasing read performance have included the use of various caching techniques. However, in a mixed read/write environment, read performance still suffers in order to maintain consistent information. Caching as well as turning off transaction logging has been used in attempts to increase write performance. However, these techniques do not ensure reliability because information may be lost in the event of a power failure or other service interruption.
The inventor has determined that it would be desirable to provide a system and method to increase both read and write performance of existing systems without sacrificing consistency and reliability.